Carbon neutral city in struggle with climate change: The case of carbon neutral cities alliance

Climate change is recognized as the biggest environmental problem facing humanity today. Various initiatives are being taken at local, national and especially international level to solve this problem that arises due to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Cities, which are the areas where more than half of the global energy is consumed and where the majority of total emissions occur, become the most important actors of climate actions due to these characteristics. In this framework, it is seen that cities set various emission targets. One of the emission targets that has recently come to the fore is carbon neutrality. This study aims to examine exemplary policies and strategies related to the carbon neutrality target and to systematize the carbon neutrality process. In this respect, the hypothesis of the study is that carbon neutrality practices lead to effective results in struggle with climate change. For this, it is necessary to focus on the emission reduction strategies and actions of the cities in the sample within the scope of achieving the carbon neutrality target. This hypothesis is tested through case study and document analysis methods and the analysis of written and visual materials on the cities in the sample. The study which consists of three parts, in the first part of the study, presents the emergence of climate change, its impacts and international efforts and strategies to struggle with this problem. In the second part, decarbonization approaches, the concept of carbon neutrality and the scope of a carbon neutral city are presented. In the third section, the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance network, from which the sample was selected, the design of the research and the carbon neutrality journeys of the selected cities are discussed. In this framework, the carbon neutrality processes of cities (Adelaide, Helsinki, Copenhagen and Seattle) that differ geographically and in terms of their approach to climate change are scrutinized. As a result, it has been determined that the practices carried out to achieve the carbon neutrality target have generally yielded effective results in struggle with climate change and that their carbon neutrality vision is an important step towards an emission-free future, even if they are insufficient to completely eliminate emissions.